Just wondering if anybody went to Dr. Maureen Stuart in Ottawa. I was glancing at the list of doctors and am curious about her. If any of you went to her or are planning to then please let me know how it went (or will go once you're there) and what procedures she did, etc. Thanks!

Also (in all of Canada really, but mainly Ontario/Quebec) - who do you all think is the best doctor to go to?

One more question - what exactly do I need in order to schedule a medical? Is my Montreal case # enough or does it depend on the doctor... or is there something specific from Packet 3 that I need to bring in and show them?

Thanks everyone!

Dr. Seiden's in Toronto was "good" because they seemed uninterested. They were checking "no" to questions before I even answered and their physical exam wasn't much of an exam.

They did forget to check off something on my TB worksheet which was discovered at the consulate and was resolved quickly by the office faxing the consulate the required information.

Some doctors (I think most) require the cover letter from your Packet 3 when you go in. They normally don't need it over the phone when you schedule.

When I made my appt. with Dr. Doane here in N.S. The secretary told me to bring tne cover letter from packet 3 along with 3 passport pics and $180.00

Hmm...In Tornoto at Dr Seiden's poffice - I've been told to bring only 1 photo, the letter, passport etc.........

Does anyone ever wonder if the right hand knows what the left is doing in this whole process????? 1 question can garner a whole host of different responses to something supposedly so simple.

Me thinks I will try and get a government job and help them out with their ambiguity once I arrive!

Dr. Stewart was great. Friendly and to the point, it was a rather short exam. Some basic health questions, goes over your vaccination record, checks your vitals, eyesight, and then does a quick physical checking reflexes and genitals (very quick and painless).

There was almost no waiting time for me, and her secretary was knowledgeable. No waiting time to get bloodwork done (in the same building). Short wait time at the Riverside Hospital (on-site as well) for the X-ray, but nothing significant. Results were ready within 3 days.

That sounds good except how exactly do they do the genital part? Do you know if all of the doctors do this?

It took about - literally - 3 seconds. She just checks for obvious infections/problems. No stirrups or anything like that, just up on the table where she checks reflexes etc... as well.

And I imagine they all do. It was listed as a necessary part of the exam in my packet 3 info.

Oh, okay!!!

I was under the impression they check the genital area to verify gender. I imagine it would be very embarrassing for a country to discover the "female" they had admitted was actually a male... and vice versa. I'm sure somebody's tried it. LOL

Dr. Seiden's didn't give me a genital exam at all. Hmm...

I didn't get one either.....*shutting my mouth* lol

yep, nothing major, much less intensive than an annual checkup.

I got looked at and checked out from Dr. Doane.. Better to be prepared that a check would be done I think.. I was under the impression it was "no biggie" .. and I ended up really uncomfortable when i was told to strip down... Not fun..

Yeah, that's why I wanted to know. The reason I was curious about Dr. Stuart was because she's female and if I had to do something like that I'd rather do it with a female doctor. But I'd rather not have to do it. lol. But especially not with a male doctor!

LOL

I never would have thought of that and I doubt that's true (ha, ha) but with all the steps we have to go through for this whole process, you know, I almost wouldn't be surprised if they did it to verify gender.

Yeah, I expected it ahead of time since it's listed on the medical info in my packet 3, but it's definitely still uncomfortable, especially since it'd be the first and only time encountering this doctor, heh. It's the main reason why I went to Dr. Stewart, since she's female.

So ... I booked an appointment with her, and for the same reason. But it costs $310. Ugh! Anyway thanks for the information! I'll let you know if I have any other questions!

Really? It cost me $285, and that was only three weeks ago.

That's what the secretary (??) I spoke with said. WEIRD! I hope it was a mistake and it really is only $285! But even the Montreal Consulate information page says $310... :S

I booked with Dr Stewart for tomorrow - I was also told it was $310. YIKES!

I updated the Ottawa doctor's fee's the other month on VJ Consulate page.

I went to Dr Weiner, very fast, he barely checked anything, didn't even make sure I was a female. They won't send the report to you, but you can have a courier pick it up for you. $15 for me.

Yes it is $310 with her and $10 for each extra shot. I'd recommend getting there half an hour or so early as you will have to fill in a lot of paperwork!

I went for my medical at Stewarts... be prepared to wait, get lost in the hospital, wait some more, get moved to the exam room and yes... more waiting. 4 hours later....

On a positive note, I got my Packet 4 today with a June 11th interview date!! YA!

Wow, sounds like you had to wait twice as long as me! I didn't get lost at the hospital though - I asked people along the way where I was supposed to go. The bloodwork place was easy to find, but the radiology room in the other hospital...it wasn't very clear where I was supposed to go.

Looking at your timeline - you only have 3 months from sending your petition to your interview date. Wow! BTW where is your fiancee located? Since you were going through Vermont as well, now I'm curious!

He's located in Frederick, Maryland, and I'm in Kingston, Ontario - How about you?

Oh, I know Frederick! My hubby used to live in Frostburg (Cumberland area) before being transferred to FL. Maryland's a beautiful state. Make sure you have good tires on your car, though! LOL

New Jersey... I met him in Maryland though! You had to come all the way to Ottawa for your medical? I guess Kingston isn't that far (in a manner of speaking, hehe.)

Well today was my time to see the doctor, the appointment being at 10 a.m. I was there at 9 and the office opened around 9:15. The receptionist said it was good that I arrived early since there was a lot of paperwork to be done and there were about 6 or more pages to fill and it all went fairly quickly. The longest part of the process was waiting for the x-ray to be done since they were short staffed this morning, and that took well over a half hour to get done. The blood work took no more than 3 minutes and then it was back to the office. Once back in the office I waited about 20 minutes to see the doctor and get everything done examination and questions, the exam was a total medical exam from the top of my head to the soles of my feet, including the prostrate and turn your head and cough. Everything went very well until she asked about depressions, I told her that I had a bout of depression in the early 70s and she told me that we needed documentation about that since it could mean denial at the consulate, I told her it was a mild bout and that it was treated by my going to work everyday and being at the hospital overnight, but she insisted on getting the documentation required. So all in all things went very well, I did need a tetanus shot and another next year. From the time I arrived to the time I left it took 3.5 hours and I am glad it is done.
For those in the Ottawa area I went to see Doctor Maureen Stewart, she is impressive, competent and has my vote as who to go and see. The reception area and examination rooms were well above expectations.

Hey ... glad your medical went well ... one more thing down for ya!!!

I agree; she was very friendly. The only 'bad' thing is all the waiting and that it was kind of expensive, but oh well! Not a big deal; maybe she charges a lot cause she knows she's doing it right?

It was good for me to hear that she would mention that about what you need for the depression b/c of a potential denial at the consulate; I guess she would have told me if she thought the possibility of a denial at the consulate was there. (Not that I was worried they'd find I had some terrible disease, but I was previously concerned that I couldn't see the results...)

Lynette

Hi, it did go well and I am thankful for that, I hope the glitch will be nothing big though otherwise everything will have been for naught. I am hoping and praying that you are soon with Ed, as others here I am also keeping an eye on you hoping to see a great big we have our appointment. You are definitely more than ready, willing and able to make it Montreal, you have put in your time and should have been in the US long before now.



Melytha

For me also: the price was rather high but when offering a service that is required with only one alternative it is up to the patient to decide which of the two is better for them and I as you personally prefer a female doctor myself because they are better listeners and make sure that what they said is understood and you for your own reasons.

I am very sure that if she thought you had some issue that would cause a problem with the consulate she would have told you so as she did with me

I was quite surprised at the thoroughness of the examination as others in their posts said that this and that wasn’t done (examined) at the time of their examination. Basically the only part of me that wasn’t physically looked was my nose other than breath through your nose and hold your breath.
As for the time it took waiting; getting the x-ray done for me was the longest wait since that took about a half hour or more everything else was done within a 10 to 15 minute period, the examination it self was quite long because of all of the questions and her having to formulate that answers so they would shed a positive light and not a dark shadow on my past and present conditions.

Now we have to collect documentation from 30 years ago because that was my blue period. I thought having a 35 year old criminal record which no longer exists was my only problem and now it seems that, that is nothing compared to being depressed 30 years ago.
The funny thing is that after telling me that I could be denied she took my blood pressure and it was 130 over 88 or something like that and she said I should bring it down a few points, well it would have been fine had she checked it before giving me the so good news.

I did like the doctor’s office it was lacking the sterile look of white everywhere it had a relaxing atmosphere, which was good and calming.

Finally after 2 months to the day I have the medical documentation. All the waivers I signed for her (the Dr.) were for naught since she got nothing from any hospital I was in because as the receptionist said "records are not kept past the 20 years mark" and everything the doc wanted to know about happened over 37 years ago.